Films easily soluble in cold water

ABSTRACT

A film easily soluble in cold water comprises a water-soluble copolymer composed of 6 to 40 mol % of an allyl ester moiety and 94 to 60 mol % of a vinyl ester moiety and having a degree of sponification of not less than 65 mol %. The film is easily soluble in cold water and such solubility in cold water is not lowered even if it comes into contact with either alkaline or acidic materials and it can suitably used as wrapping material for packages which are directly thrown into water together with packed materials.

This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/227,293 filed Aug. 2, 1988, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a film easily soluble in cold water and more specifically to a film easily soluble in cold water, which comprises a water-soluble polymer obtained by saponifying a copolymer of an allyl ester and a vinyl ester and which is suitable for, in particular preparing a package which can directly be thrown into water.

Recently, water-soluble films have been used as packaging materials. In particular, they have been used for packaging water-soluble or water-dispersible solid materials, which are toxic to the user, which must be correctly dispensed upon employing the same, and/or which are difficult to remove from human body when they are attached thereto. As such solid materials, there may be mentioned, for instance, fine powdery water-soluble or water-dispersible materials such products for cleaning as detergents and bleaching agents; such agrochemicals as herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, antifungals and antiseptics; pigments and dyes. In this respect, such a fine powdery material is wrapped with a water-soluble film and then the wrapped material is in general added to water as it is without taking off the film. Therefore, it is required that the film for packaging should be dissolved therein within a short period of time to thereby dissolve and disperse the fine powdery material into water. This in turn requires that the film used for wrapping the material should be easily soluble in cold water.

To date, polyvinyl alcohol (hereinafter referred to as "PVA" for simplicity) has been used as a material for forming such a water-soluble film. In this connection, the completely saponified PVA is hardly soluble in cold water and, therefore, PVA partially saponified has been used for such a purpose. The partially saponified PVA is certainly easily soluble in cold water, but it undergoes additional saponification when it brings into contact with any alkaline material, which leads to the lowering of stability with time. In particular, it becomes hardly soluble in cold water with the lapse of time, for instance, 2 to 3 weeks later.

Recently, there has been proposed a method in which PVA is modified with an unsaturated carboxylic acid in order to eliminate the aforementioned disadvantage and water-soluble films prepared from such modified PVA have been put on the market. In this respect, reference is made to "Suiyosei Kobunshi No Oyo To Shijyo (The Application of Water-Soluble Polymers and the Market Therefore)", pp. 266-277, published by CMC Co.

The cold water-solubility of a film comprised of PVA modified with unsaturated carboxylic acids is not influenced even when it is brought into contact with an alkaline material. On the contrary, the solubility of the film in cold water in greatly influenced by acidic material.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a film easily soluble in cold water whose cold water-solubility is not impaired even if it is brought into contact with either alkaline materials or acidic materials for a long period of time.

The inventors of the present invention have conducted various studies to achieve the foregoing object and as a result have found that water-soluble films composed of specific water-soluble polymers are not impaired in their solubility in cold water even if they come in contact with an alkaline material or an acidic material for a long period of time. The present invention has been completed based on such a finding.

According to the present invention, there is provided a film easily soluble in cold water which comprises, as a film-forming material, a water-soluble copolymer whose degree of saponification is not less than 65 mol % and which is composed of 6 to 40 mol % of allyl ester moieties and 94 to 60 mol % of vinyl ester moieties.

DETAILED EXPLANATION OF THE INVENTION

The preparation of the copolymer composed of allyl ester moieties and vinyl ester moieties as used herein for preparing water-soluble polymer and the saponification of the same can be carried out according to any known methods disclosed in, for instance, Japanese Patent Un-examined Publication (hereunder referred to as "J.P. KOKAI") No. 53-102937.

First of all, the copolymerization of an allyl ester and a vinyl ester can be effected in the presence of a solvent such a lower alcohol as methanol and a polymerization catalyst such as 2,2'-azobisisobutyronitrile or diisopropyldicarbonateperoxide-N,N-dimethylaniline. The content of the allyl ester moiety in the copolymer ranges from 6 to 40 mol % and preferably 6 to 30 mol %. This is because, if the content thereof is less than 6 mol %, saponified products thereof are inferior in solubility in cold water and the solubility in cold water thereof is impaired when it brings into contact with either an alkaline or acidic material. On the other hand, if it is more than 40 mol %, the strength of the resultant film becomes low and whereby the film is not acceptable as a material for packaging. The degree of polymerization of the copolymer is not critical, but preferably it ranges from 200 to 3,000.

The copolymer thus prepared can be saponified by adding an acid or an alkali to an alcohol solution or an aqueous alcohol solution of the copolymer. Examples of alcohols include methanol and ethanol and methanol is preferably used as a solvent among others. A catalyst for saponification may be used and examples thereof include such an alkali catalyst as sodium hydroxide and sodium methylate and such an acid catalyst as sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid. The degree of saponification of the copolymer, more specifically that of allyl ester and vinyl ester components is not less than 65 mol % and preferably not less than 90 mol %. This is because, the solubility thereof in cold water becomes low if the degree of saponification is outside the foregoing range.

The saponified copolymer thus produced is heat dried in accordance with a method commonly employed and is pulverized according to need to obtain a water-soluble polymer used in preparing the film of this invention.

Examples of the allyl esters as used herein are allyl formate, allyl acetate, allyl butyrate, allyl caproate and allyl maleate. Examples of the vinyl esters used in the present invention include vinyl formate, vinyl acetate, vinyl propionate, vinyl butyrate and vinyl laurate. Inter alia, particularly preferred examples thereof are allyl acetate and vinyl acetate because they are less expensive and are easily available. Each of the allyl and vinyl ester components may be used alone or in combination of two or more of them.

The copolymer of an allyl ester with a vinyl ester used in the present invention may additionally comprise at least one other monomer copolymerizable with the allyl ester and/or the vinyl ester such as an unsaturated monocarboxylic acid, for instance, crotonic acid and (meth)acrylic acid and esters thereof; an unsaturated dicarboxylic acid and its anhydride, for instance, maleic acid, itaconic acid and fumaric acid and anhydrides thereof, monoalkyl esters and alkali metal salts thereof; alpha-olefins, for instance, ethylene and propylene; (meth)allyl sulfonates, ethylene sulfonate, sulfonic acid maleate and alkali metal salts thereof; amido group-containing monomers, for instance, acrylamide and N-methylol acrylamide; alkyl vinyl ethers and vinyl pyrrolidone, so far as the effect of the present invention is not impaired.

The film easily soluble in cold water in accordance with the present invention can be obtained by utilizing the foregoing water-soluble polymer as a film-forming material. The film may be produced by any known methods such as casting and extrusion.

The thickness of the film is not critical, but preferred range thereof is 10 to 150 microns.

The film of the present invention may contain a plasticizer for the water-soluble polymer according to need. Examples of preferred plasticizers are glycerin, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, polyglycerol, tetraethylene glycol, triethanolamine, 1,3-butanediol, triethanolamine acetate and ethanol acetamide.

The film easily soluble in cold water in accordance with the present invention may further comprise, for instance, water-soluble polymers such as PVA, starches, cellulose derivatives, polyacrylic acids and alkali metal salts thereof; aqueous emulsions; suspensions; or pigments such as clay and titanium oxide, if the effects of the present invention are not impaired at all.

As discussed above in detail, the film of the present invention is easily soluble in cold water and such solubility in cold water is not lowered even if it comes into contact with either alkaline or acidic materials. Therefore, the film of this invention is suitable for wrapping water-soluble or water-dispersible solid materials, which are toxic to the user, which must be correctly dispensed upon employing the same, and which are difficult to remove from human body when they are attached thereto. Such a package can be used as it is, for example, by directly throwing it into water. The film of the present invention can suitably be used as wrapping materials for use in packaging various materials such as pharmaceutical agents which are wrapped in a packaging film and the packaged materials are directly thrown into water in the wrapped state when they are used (so-called direct throwing type packaged materials).

The present invention will hereunder be explained in more detail with reference to the following non-limitative working examples and reference examples and the effects practically achieved by the present invention will also be discussed in detail below in comparison with the following Comparative Examples.

In the following examples, the terms "part(s)" and "%" mean "part(s) by weight" and "% by weight" respectively unless otherwise specified.

REFERENCE EXAMPLE 1 Synthesis of Water-Soluble Polymer

There were introduced 1,000 parts of vinyl acetate and 25 parts of allyl acetate into a flask provided with a stirring machine, a thermometer, a dropping funnel and a reflux condenser, the air in the system was replaced with N₂ gas and then the temperature of the system was raised to 60° C. To the system there was added 10 parts of 2,2'-azobisisobutyronitrile in 300 parts of methanol to initiate polymerization of the monomers. After the initiation of the polymerization, 225 parts of allyl acetate were dropwise added to the system at a constant rate over 5 hours and the polymerization was stopped after the lapse of additional one hour. At this stage, the content of solid material in the system was 50% and the overall yield of polymer with respect to the total amount of the monomers was thus 62%. Unreacted vinyl acetate and allyl acetate were evaporated off under a reduced pressure to obtain 45% methanol solution of the resultant copolymer. It was determined that the resultant copolymer comprised 15 mol % of allyl acetate moiety and 85 mol % of vinyl acetate moiety by quantitatively analyzing the amount of the unreacted allyl acetate and vinyl acetate.

100 Parts of the methanol solution of the copolymer was maintained at 40° C. while continuously stirring, 15 parts of 1N methanolic caustic soda solution was added thereto and stirred sufficiently and thereafter the resulting solution was allowed to stand. After 30 minutes, the solidified polymer was pulverized with a pulverizer, washed with methanol and then dried to obtain powdery polymer.

The powdery polymer was dissolved in water and viscosity thereof was determined at 30° C. and it was found to be 8 cps at a solid content of 4%. In addition, the degree of saponification of the powder was 98 mol %.

REFERENCE EXAMPLE 2 Synthesis of Water-Soluble Polymer

There were introduced 1,000 parts of vinyl acetate and 50 parts of allyl acetate into a flask similar to that used in Reference Example 1 and the air in the system was replaced with N₂ gas and then the temperature of the system was raised to 60° C. To the system there were added 5 parts of 2,2'-azobisisobutyronitrile in 260 parts of methanol to initiate polymerization of the monomers. The polymerization was stopped 5 hours after the initiation of the polymerization. At this stage, the content of solid material in the system was 60%. Then, unreacted allyl acetate and vinyl acetate were forced out according in the same manner as in Reference Example 1 to obtain 47% methanolic solution of the resultant copolymer. It was confirmed by the same quantitative analysis as in Reference Example 1 that the resultant copolymer comprised 6 mol % of allyl acetate moiety and 94 mol % of vinyl acetate moiety.

As in Reference Example 1, 100 parts of the methanolic solution of the copolymer was maintained at 40° C. while continuously stirring it, 13 parts of 1N methanolic caustic soda solution was added thereto to form solid polymer and the polymer was pulverized, washed and dried to obtain powdery polymer.

The powdery polymer was dissolved in water and viscosity thereof was determined at 30° C. and it was found to be 15 cps at a solid content of 4%. In addition, the degree of saponification of the powder was 94 mol %.

REFERENCE EXAMPLE 3 Synthesis of Water-Soluble Polymer

There were introduced 1,000 parts of vinyl propionate and 25 parts of allyl acetate into a flask similar to that used in Reference Example 1, the air in the system was replaced with N₂ gas and then the temperature of the system was raised to 60° C. To the system there was added 10 parts of 2,2'-azobisisobutyronitrile in 300 parts of methanol to initiate polymerization of the monomers. After the initiation of the polymerization, 225 parts of allyl acetate were dropwise added to the system at a constant rate over 5 hours and the polymerization was stopped after the lapse of additional one hour. At this stage, the content of solid material in the system was 48%. Unreacted vinyl propionate and allyl acetate were forced out in the same procedure as in Reference Example 1 to obtain 47% methanol solution of the resultant copolymer. It was confirmed by the same quantitative analysis as in Reference Example 1 that the resultant copolymer comprised 7 mol % of allyl acetate moiety and 93 mol % of vinyl propionate moiety.

As in Reference Example 1, 100 parts of the methanolic solution of the copolymer was maintained at 40° C. while continuously stirring it, 13 parts of 1N methanolic caustic soda solution was added thereto to form solid polymer and the polymer was pulverized, washed and dried to obtain powdery polymer.

The powdery polymer was dissolved in water and viscosity thereof was determined at 30° C. and it was found to be 10 cps at a solid content of 4%. In addition, the degree of saponification of the powder was 96 mol %.

EXAMPLE 1

The powdery polymer obtained in Reference Example 1 was dissolved in water to prepare 10% aqueous solution thereof.

This aqueous solution was casted on a horizontal polyester plate having a smooth surface utilizing an applicator and then was dried in an oven to obtain a transparent uniform film having a thickness of 28 microns.

A bag of 5×5 cm in size was made from the resultant film. 20 g of a detergent for washing (manufactured and sold by Kao Corporation under the trade name of ZABU) was charged into the bag and it was sealed by heating. In addition, sodium carbonate powder, ammonium sulfate powder and a herbicide (manufactured and sold by KUMIAI CHEMICAL INDUSTRY CO., LTD. under the trade name of KITAZINE P) were also packed in such bags and sealed respectively. These packages were stored for one year during which a film having a size of 1×1 cm was cut from each sample after the lapse of 6 months and one year and was immersed in water at 20° C. to determine the time required for complete dissolution thereof (time requirement for dissolution of film). The results obtained are summarized in Table 1 given below. As seen from the results listed in Table 1, no change in solubility of the film with time was observed and excellent solubility in cold water thereof was held in all the samples examined.

EXAMPLE 2

The same procedures as in Example 1 were repeated except for using the powdery polymer prepared in Reference Example 2 in place of that obtained in Reference Example 1 and thus the change in water-solubility of the film with time due to the influence of the packaged pharmaceutical agents and chemicals was determined. The results thus obtained are summarized in Table 1 below. In this case, the thickness of the film was 27 microns. As seen from the results listed in Table 1, each film substantially retained its excellent solubility in cold water although the change thereof with time was larger than those observed in Example 1, with respect to all the pharmaceutical agents and chemicals examined.

EXAMPLE 3

The powdery polymer prepared in Reference Example 2 and 10% of glycerin were dissolved in water to form 12% aqueous solution of the polymer. Using this solution, films were produced and the change in cold water solubility thereof with time due to the coexistence of various agents was determined according in the same manner as in Example 1. The results observed are listed in Table 1. In this Example, the thickness of the film was 32 microns.

As seen from the results listed in Table 1, the films exhibited only a small change in the solubility in cold water with time even under the influence of any coexisting pharmaceutical agents and chemicals examined.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 1

Films were prepared according in the same manner as in Example 1 except for using, in place of the powdery polymer obtained in Reference Example 1, PVA having a degree of saponification of 88 mol % and a viscosity of 7 pcs (determined at 30° C., 4% aqueous solution) and likewise the change, with time, in cold water-solubility of the films due to the influence of various agents was determined. The results observed are summarized in Table 1. In this Comparative Example 1, the thickness of the films were 28 microns. As seen from the results listed in Table 1, the solubility of the films in cold water was greatly influenced by the pharmaceutical agents and chemicals examined.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 2

Films were prepared according in the same manner as in Example 1 except for using, in place of the powdery polymer obtained in Reference Example 1, a modified PVA containing 1.5 mol % of maleic acid moiety, having a degree of saponification of 96 mol % and a viscosity of 10 cps (determined at 30° C., 4% aqueous solution) and likewise the change, with time, in cold water-solubility of the films due to the influence of various phamaceutical agents and chemicals was determined. The results observed are summarized in Table 1. In this Comparative Example 2, the thickness of the films were 28 microns.

As seen from the results listed in Table 1, it was found that the films in this Comparative Example was easily soluble in cold water when the pharmaceutical agents and chemicals were alkaline materials, but they became hardly soluble in cold water when they were brought into contact with acidic materials.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 3

Films were prepared according in the same manner as in Example 3 except for using, in place of the powdery polymer obtained in Reference Example 2, PVA having a degree of saponification of 93 mol % and a viscosity of 16 cps (determined at 30° C., 4% aqueous solution) and likewise the change, with time, in cold water-solubility of the films due to the influence of various pharmaceutical agents and chemicals was determined. The results observed are summarized in Table 1. In this Comparative Example 1, the thickness of the films was 28 microns. As seen from the results listed in Table 1, the solubility of the films in cold water was greatly influenced by all the pharmaceutical agents and chemicals examined.

EXAMPLE 4

According in the same procedures as in Example 1, films were prepared from the powdery polymer obtained in Reference Example 3 and the change in the solubility of the films in cold water with time due to the influence of various pharmaceutical agents and chemicals was determined. The results observed are summarized in Table 1 below. In this case, the thickness of the films was 25 microns. As seen from Table 1, it was found that the solubility of the films in cold water was not changed with time under the influence of any pharmaceutical agents and chemicals examined and that they exhibited excellent solubility in cold water.

                  TABLE 1                                                          ______________________________________                                         Time Requirement for Dissolution of Films                                                               Sodium                                                Ex.  Storage             Car-   Ammonium                                                                               Her-                                   No.  Time      Detergent bonate Sulfate bicide                                 ______________________________________                                         1     0        10        10     10      10                                                    (Sec.)    (Sec.) (Sec.)  (Sec.)                                       6 months 11        10      9      10                                          12 months  9         9      9      11                                     2     0        30        30     30      30                                           6 months 35        36     29      28                                          12 months 40        42     31      29                                     3     0        22        22     22      22                                           6 months 25        24     24      21                                          12 months 30        28     23      23                                     1(*)  0        15        15     15      15                                           6 months 100       120    40      38                                          12 months insoluble insoluble                                                                             90      85                                     2(*)  0        10        10     10      10                                           6 months 11        12     80      70                                          12 months 12        13     insoluble                                                                              insoluble                              3(*)  0        25        25     25      25                                           6 months 130       150    35      38                                          12 months insoluble insoluble                                                                             140     110                                    4     0         8         9     10       8                                            6 months                                                                                9        10      8       9                                          12 months  9         9     10      10                                     ______________________________________                                          (*): Comparative examples                                                 

What is claimed is:
 1. A film that is easily soluble in cold water, even under acid or alkaline conditions, comprisinga water-soluble copolymer consisting of 6 to 40 mol % of allyl ester moieties and 94 to 60 mol % of vinyl ester moieties, said copolymer having a degree of saponification of not less than 65% and about 10% by weight of at least one plasticizer selected from the group consisting of glycerin, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, polyglycerol, tetraethylene glycol, triethanolamine, 1,3-butanediol, triethanolamine acetate, and ethanol acetamide.
 2. The film of claim 1, further comprising at least one member selected from the group consisting of polyvinyl alcohol, starches, cellulose derivatives, polyacrylic acid and alkali metal salts thereof, and pigments.
 3. The film of claim 1, wherein the allyl ester moiety comprises at least one member selected from the group consisting of allyl formate, allyl acetate, allyl butyrate, allyl caproate and allyl maleate.
 4. The film of claim 1, wherein the vinyl ester moiety comprises at least one member selected from the group consisting of vinyl formate, vinyl acetate, vinyl propionate, vinyl butyrate and vinyl laurate.
 5. The film of claim 2, wherein the allyl ester moiety comprises at least one member selected from the group consisting of allyl formate, allyl acetate, allyl butyrate, allyl caproate and allyl maleate.
 6. The film of claim 2, wherein the vinyl ester moiety comprises at least one member selected from the group consisting of vinyl formate, vinyl acetate, vinyl propionate, vinyl butyrate and vinyl laurate.
 7. A film of claim 1, wherein the plasticizer is glycerin. 